A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

HOW ODD THAT MASSACRES MOSTLY HAPPEN IN "GUN-FREE ZONES"! When will the brain-dead Left wake up and draw the obvious conclusion? Gun bans kill kids

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Florida Open Carry Gains Momentum

The push to reform Florida gun laws to restore open carry rights has gained significant momentum in the last few weeks. First, on October 5th, the licensed Open Carry bill, HB-163, passed the Florida House Criminal Justice sub-committee, with an 8-4 vote. Second, one day later, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to the Florida Open Carry ban in the Norman v. State (Florida) (PDF) case. The Florida Sheriff's Association, using rather heavy-handed tactics, came out against the open carry bill in the middle of October .

Now the Florida Police Chiefs Association has said that it will support the open carry reform if some changes designed to protect peace officers are included. From new-journalonline.com:

A spokeswoman confirmed that the police chiefs' group had contacted the sponsors of the proposal (SB 300/HB 163), Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and his son, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, who both say they're on board with the changes.

"The police chiefs understand that momentum is building," association spokeswoman Sandi Poreda said. "And because of their concerns for police officers' safety, they wanted to go ahead and reach out to the bill sponsors and work on these amendments, which they believe will better protect officers."

The amendments have not been filed yet, but do not appear to be deal-breakers. They are reported to include four proposals:

Excluding people who display firearms intentionally in an angry or threatening manner, not necessarily in self defense

Change "probable cause" to "reasonable suspicion" of a crime before stopping or investigating people openly carrying firearms

Including immunity for police officers conduct investigations allowed by law

Including a requirement that open carry be in a holster

The Florida Police Chiefs Association reaction shows that this mild attempt to provide some restoration of Florida's open carry law has a very good chance of passing the legislature.

Arguments against the law have a difficult time contending with the fact that open carry is legal in 44 states; that Texas becomes the 45th state on 1 January, 2016, and that Florida had legal open carry until 1987, when Janet Reno vigorously lobbied to have the current law passed in an special legislative session without ordinary debate or public input.

Pinellas County Sheriff Gualtieri, who spearheaded the action against open carry in the Sheriffs Association, postulated some hypothetical dangers to open carriers, none of which have happened in the 44 states that already have open carry.

HB-163, the House bill, has passed the House. SB-300, the Senate version of the bill is in the Senate Judiciary committee.

The terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have increased momentum for these bills. Police chiefs and sheriffs all over the country are calling citizens to carry arms for their protection. Those calls are being met with overwhelming support from the citizenry.

We should know if Florida will become the latest state to restore open carry, and the 46th state to at least give minimal support to the "bear" half of the Second Amendment's right to "keep and bear arms".

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Some one tell me what makes police officers more special than the non police. there is no reason what so ever to change the need for probable cause. that leaves the door open for continual harassment. You either have a right to carry or you do not period. You could be arrested if a friend asks to see your weapon and you take it out to show him. How many times do police draw on you without probable cause. Probable cause it what ever the police say it is. This change could destroy even that protection. If the police are too afraid to be civil let them change jobs. the right to carry is the right to carry without anyone else's permission or inspection. Arizona law does not permit police to randomly inspect, why should Florida or any other state? the second amendment is a federal guaranteed right not a state permission. You have your federal rights where ever you go in any state. for law to be valid law everyone is equal under the law. police are not entitled to special protections. they applied for a dangerous job if it is too dangerous let them apply for a less dangerous job nobody force them to be police. If you remove your gun from it holster just to check and see if it needs cleaning or adjusting or even loading the police could arrest you and they would love to take your gun for any reason. I say pass the law without any amendments and let the police sweat it out, eventually they will get used to the fact that you have the same right to carry as they do.

Background

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” -- Thomas Jefferson

Syndicated columnist Charley Reese (1937-2013): "Gun control by definition affects only honest people. When a politician tells you he wants to forbid you from owning a firearm or force you to get a license, he is telling you he doesn’t trust you. That’s an insult. ... Gun control is not about guns or crime. It is about an elite that fears and despises the common people."

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles -- Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)

Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.

The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

How much do you know about Trayvon Martin? Did you recognize him in the picture above? If not you may need to know more about him. It's all here (Backups here and here)

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” -- Robert A. Heinlein